Just Talk
by thegoodpill
Summary: On an ordinary day Kukai visits, but instead of having a casual chat with all the guardians, he wishes to speak Amu in private. Why?
1. Chapter 1

Everyone gathered around the table, some laughing, others simply smiling. The noise disappeared when Tadase began handing out several papers. The other guardians looked down at what they'd gotten.

"Tadase-kun," Amu asked, "What are these papers for?"

"Ah, sorry, I forgot to tell you. You have to fill in your opinion about your fellow guardians, write down their strong and weak points."

"What for?" Rima asked dryly. "We all know Yaya's the only one with weak points."

"What?!" the red haired girl shouted. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"That you're a big baby."

"Aah, Rima-tan," Yaya cried, "I thought we were friends!"

The rest of the group laughed silently at the situation before they turned serious again.

"But, Tadase-kun, why do we need to do this?"

"Yeah," Nagihiko agreed after looking down at his papers, "I don't even know what to write..."

"That the previous Jack was way more awesome!"

Rima and Yaya stopped fighting and, just like their friends, turned their heads to the Royal Garden's entrance.

"Kukai!" nearly everyone yelled.

"Is that the guy who pushed me in the snow once?" Rima asked darkly.

*

"Yo!" Kukai yelled cheerfully.

"The entire group had surrounded him, and al of them (with exception of one) were excited.

"It's good to see you again, Soma-kun." Tadase said.

"Kukai, Kukai", Yaya shouted as she clung to him, "Rima-tan is being mean to me!"

"Ah, sorry," the soccer guy apologized, "You're going to have to save yourself out of this one."

"Eh?"

"Is something wrong?" the prince asked.

"No, no, I'm fine." Kukai turned to Amu. "Amu," She shocked. "Can I talk to you?"

A few moments later the two kids were walking along the sports field, leaving a whining Yaya (and Pepe of course) far behind them. When Kukai sat down on one of the benches, Amu quickly sat beside him. They didn't speak for several moments.

"Eh, Kukai, y-you're not going to work with me again, right?" Amu asked nervously.

Kukai laughed. "No, not at all!" His laugh faded pretty fast. "I just wanna talk. Just talk."

Amu noticed he was sad. Or nervous. Maybe both. Either way, Kukai wasn't his usual, active, happy self.

"Say, Amu," Kukai started silently, "Do you remember our time together?"

The pink haired eleven-year-old immediately remembered their tiring workouts at random moments.

"How could I ever forget?" she whispered, sounding quite down.

"When you were a new member of the guardians, I was the first to approve you."

In a flash Amu saw Kukai laughing at her before he held up his thumb, a wide smile on his face. He was right.

"It's going to be Valentine's Day soon."

_Darn, I totally forgot!_ Amu thought, panicking. _What am I supposed to give to Ta-Wait. Why is... _She turned her head to her friend. _Kukai... telling me this?_

It was almost unnoticeable, but the former Jack was blushing.

"Amu!" Kukai said as he faced her.

"Y-Y-Y-Yes?!" Amu replied, suddenly also blushing.

"Would you mind if I gave you chocolates on Valentine's Day??"

Amu's head grew entirely red at his question, and before she could stop herself she ran away. As she ran, she yelled something.

"I thought we were just going to talk!"

Within a few moments, love had gotten a bit more complicated. Again.


	2. Chocolates

Amu fell onto her bed and landed with her face onto her soft pillow. She let out a sigh as she rolled onto her back, holding her pillow tightly against her. Her Guardian Characters flew towards her, worried looks on their faces.

"Amu-chan," Ran began, "What happened?"

"Did Kukai say something bad?" Su asked.

Amu shook her head before remembering what he'd told her. _"Amu! Would you mind if I gave you chocolates on Valentine's Day??"_

"Why did he say that?!" the pink haired girl yelled to herself, a light blush crossing her cheeks. "It just makes no sense!"

The three flying girls turned to each other and shrugged, they really had no idea what had happened. But, whatever the case, they had to help their owner.

"Amu, can we help?" Miki asked, flying closer to Amu.

Amu shook her head. "I'm afraid not."

She sat up straight, placed her pillow behind her and looked at her tiny friends. They curiously waited for her to speak.

"Kukai… likes me."

The three Characters stared at her for a few moments, only to look extremely shocked within a second and yell "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh?!" louder than they had ever done.

*

"Amu!"

Amu's eyes shot open at the sound of her mother's voice, calling her from downstairs. She looked around her and noticed she had fallen asleep, and when she looked through her window she saw it was already dark. Was she that tired?

"Amu!" her mother yelled again.

"Y-Yes, I'm coming!"

Amu quickly stumbled off her bed, ran to her mirror, nearly fainted when she saw her hair and tried to make it look decent as fast as she could.

"Aw, man," she said to herself, "I still have homework to do!"

Without waking up her Guardian Characters, she left her room and ran down the stairs. Just before she had reached the floor, she saw her mom standing near the front door, smiling at her like crazy. Amu lifted an eyebrow.

"Eh, Mama? What's going on?"

"There's someone here to see you, Amu!"

Her mother stepped aside after flashing a wide smile – and a subtle wink – revealing Kukai behind her. Amu shocked and wanted to take a step back. She tripped over the tread behind her and lost balance. She began waving her arms around and a shout was beginning to escape her lips, and just when she was about to land on the floor, Kukai caught her in his arms. She blushed instantly.

"Are you okay?" Kukai asked kindly, making her look up at him.

Amu blushed even more when she noticed how close their faces were. She quickly pushed herself out of her friend's arms and fell onto the tread behind her. Kukai had helped her for nothing.

"Ahahahaha! Amu," Kukai started, "You're still as clumsy as ever!" He held up his thumb, just like he had done at the very beginning. "I like it!"

*

"So…" Amu began silently as she and Kukai sat on the front porch. "What is it?"

Even though she already knew what he was going to say, she still needed to ask. Maybe, just maybe, he was going to tell her it was a joke. Or maybe he wasn't going to talk about it at all. Maybe he just needed her help or something. Though she couldn't imagine why he would need _her_ help.

"I'm sorry if I scared you." Kukai said, facing the ground.

"Eh? N-No, you didn't scare me." the pink haired girl assured him, trying to look comfortable. "I just wasn't expecting anyone this late."

"No, I'm talking about earlier today. When I asked you… about those chocolates."

It was silent for several moments. Kukai still didn't look at Amu, but she sure looked at him. Her eyes had widened a little, and once again she blushed. Why did she blush so much all of a sudden? She liked Kukai, but never had she even thought of liking him in a different way. Should she have?

"Can I, though?" Kukai finally asked.

"Eh? Can you what?" Amu had been lost in her thoughts and nearly forgotten why her friend had come to her.

"Give you chocolates. On Valentine's Day."

Amu remained silent, and for the first time in ten minutes Kukai looked her in the eyes. It made her nervous, yet once again. The way he looked at her, curious and shy at the same time, it caused her to breathe faster. And with the stars shining in his eyes, he looked even more handsome than usual.

Wait.

She thought he looked handsome? Had she always thought that way? For real? Then why had she never looked as something more than a friend? Or had she, only unconsciously? And if she had, had she approved of him as something more than a friend?

She smiled. "Only on one condition."

Kukai gave her a surprised look, and now she saw him blushing as well.

"What?" he asked her nervously.

"If I can give you chocolates too."

Kukai's surprised look vanished within moments, and changed into a happy one, happier than Amu had ever seen. He got to his feet and smiled widely at her.

"Okay! Then I'll see you on Valentine's Day!"

He outstretched his arm for her, offered his hand to pull her up, and when she took it she felt how warm his hand was. Kukai pulled her to her feet, smiled at her and eventually got her to smile back.

"Yeah." Amu agreed, nodding. "On Valentine's Day. With lots of chocolate."

Kukai nodded as well to confirm their 'deal', and kissed her lightly on the cheek afterwards. Amu's entire face had grown red, and she waved absent-mindedly when Kukai left, waving excitedly.

In one evening, Amu had realized her love for Tadase hadn't been real. Or at least not as real as her love for Kukai. Now she was really looking forward to Valentine's Day, and not afraid of it at all.


End file.
